Speculations on a New Amp

Hey guys. It's been probably a year or so since I've posted here. Since then, my GAS has pretty much subsided and I really haven't wanted anything new (save for a DigiTech JamMan solo that I bought on a whim a few months ago) but now that I've started recording and the idea of performing live is becoming more and more of a possibility, I may be needing a new amp soon. Well, it's probably more of a want than a need. Oh, and the most I would be playing with is a drummer and maybe another guitarist. Maybe.

Anyway, some of the songs I'm writing require a lot of looping and multiple layers. So headroom is fairly necessary. I've been using a Fender Hot Rod Deville for some school related events because the band director has two of them. It's great, but in all honesty, I think it may be too loud for what I need. Some of you guys here think that 40 watts tube isn't much, but that thing can fill a crowded auditorium without going past 2. I guess that can be a starting point.

So what I was looking at was maybe a Jet City JCA2112rc. I know it's mostly used as a rock/dirty blues type of thing, but does it still hold it's own at a clean setting, tone-wise? I'm pretty sure a music store near me keeps them in stock, so I'll probably head down there soon.

But would something like a Bugera V22 or maybe that new Fender Excelsior (probably underpowered) work? AC15? Blues Junior?

Sorry for the wall of text. I get carried away with my verbosity some(most)times.

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Quote by dullsilver_mike

The resonant frequency of the clitoris is too low for the guitar players to take care of.

That was easy enough, I suppose. You say you want headroom, but a 40w tube amp is too loud? You have contradicting interests...More headroom means you need more wattage. Also, More watts doesn't really make much of a volume difference. It's basically all about headroom. The difference between, say, 50w and 100w is very little when it comes to volume. However, a 50w amp will get power tube distortion at a much lower volume than a 100w amp. Granted, it will still need to be quite loud, but not nearly as loud as a 100w amp. It's honestly more dependent on your speakers, ie how many you are using and how loud they are rated. I've done full gigs with a Blues Junior run into a 2x12 and had no problems being heard. In fact, I was using a Hardwire TL-2 through it and playing Metal, funnily enough, and this was in a full band with a drummer, vocalist, bassist, and second guitarist. However, there was definitely Power Tube saturation, and no chance of clean tones.

If you want headroom, you need an amp with higher wattage. That doesn't mean it will be that much louder, it means you can keep your cleans at higher volume.

For example, I have a 120w head. I play it in my apartment with no complaints, and my girlfriend can be sleeping 10 feet away. Amps have volume knobs for a reason. If you WOULD want power tube saturation, you could always get an attenuator. You'll need one no matter what if you want tube saturation at whisper volumes, as even a 5w amp will need to be super loud to get saturation.

Well, there's always the Hot Rod Deluxe but they aren't really that much quieter (40 vs 60), they just have a different tone. I have used a 60W 6L6 amp for many years and it has served me well. What it comes down to is how loud your drummer is and I've played with drummers that have played from everything from a light jazz touch to King Kong with trains for sticks.It doesn't matter how much power you have unless you are trying to get power tube breakup. You can run 6V6's in the hotrods to get more power tube breakup at lower volumes. I suspect that the Deluxe is the amp you'd want or maybe even a Blues Junior. Try both of them, personally I'd go for a BJ for what you want.

Well, there's always the Hot Rod Deluxe but they aren't really that much quieter (40 vs 60), they just have a different tone. I have used a 60W 6L6 amp for many years and it has served me well. What it comes down to is how loud your drummer is and I've played with drummers that have played from everything from a light jazz touch to King Kong with trains for sticks.It doesn't matter how much power you have unless you are trying to get power tube breakup. You can run 6V6's in the hotrods to get more power tube breakup at lower volumes. I suspect that the Deluxe is the amp you'd want or maybe even a Blues Junior. Try both of them, personally I'd go for a BJ for what you want.

I mean, wouldn't everyone want a BJ?

Sorry, I had to. I'll probably head out to some music stores this weekend to try stuff out.

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Quote by dullsilver_mike

The resonant frequency of the clitoris is too low for the guitar players to take care of.